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Saker

The saker was a medium cannon slightly smaller than a culverin developed during the early 16th century and often used by the English. It was named after the Saker Falcon, a large falconry bird native to the Middle East.
A saker's barrel was approximately 9.5 ft long, had a calibre of 3.25 inches and weighed approximately 1900 lb. It could fire round shot weighing 5.25 lb approximately 7400 ft using 4 lb of black powder. The shot was designed not to explode but bounce along the ground to cause as much damage as possible. Tests performed in France during the 1950s show a saker's range was over 9000 ft when fired at a 45-degree angle.
Henry VIII amassed a large arsenal of sakers in the early 16th century as he expanded the Royal Navy and came into conflict with France. Henry's foundries used so much bronze that there was a world shortage of tin. According to the inventory in the Anthony Roll the Mary Rose carried several sakers, though none have been found so far and may have been recovered by salvagers soon after the disaster. Sakers were heavily used during the English Civil War, especially during sieges when they were used by both attackers and defenders of fortified towns. They also saw action in the Jacobite rising and were used by the armies of both William III and James II at the Battle of the Boyne.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Saker

sā′kėr, n. a species of falcon: a species of cannon. [Fr.,—Low L. falco sacer, sacred falcon.]